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Thought of the Week Archives
February 2000
February 7
So that we do not forget, Plato tells the myth [of Er] and, in the
very last passage, says that by preserving the myth we may better preserve
ourselves and prosper. In other words, the myth has a redemptive psychological
function, and a psychology derived from it can inspire a life founded
on it.
The myth leads also to practical moves. The most practical is to entertain
the ideas implied by the myth in viewing your biography -- ideas of calling,
of soul, of daimon, of fate, of necessity....Then, the myth implies, we
must attend very carefully childhood to catch early glimpses of the daimon
in action, to grasp its intentions and not block its way. The rest of
the practical implications swiftly unfold: (a) Recognize the call
as a prime fact of human existence; (b) align life with it;
(c) find the common sense to realize that accidents, including the heartache
and the natural shocks the flesh is heir to, belong to the pattern of
the image, are necessary to it, and help fulfill it.
A calling may be postponed, avoided, intermittently missed. It may
also possess you completely. Whatever; eventually it will out. It makes
its claim. The daimon does not go away.
- James Hillman
The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling
February 14
For the non-scientist, the term �chaos� conjures up images of a birthday
party for 20 four-year-olds, or an airport terminal when runways have
closed down in a blizzard, or a shopping mall on Christmas Eve. These
images lead us to see chaos as synonymous with confusion, disarray, and
pandemonium.
Scientists have learned that chaos is none of these. Rather, chaos
describes a complex, unpredictable, and orderly disorder in which patterns
of behavior unfold in irregular but similar forms. Consider, for example
the regular irregularity of snowflakes: an always-recognizable six-sided
figure, but each snowflake unique.
Similarly, every human is different, but we know one when we see one.
Ralph Stacey calls this �bounded equilibrium� and Dee Hock, futurist and
founder of Visa, calls it �chaordic,� a combination of chaos plus order.
As Hock puts it, �In chaordic systems, order emerges. Structure evolves.
Life is a recognizable pattern within infinite diversity.�
- Toby J. Tetenbaum
- "Shifting Paradigms: From Newton to Chaos"
- Organizational Dynamics magazine, 1 April 1998
Comment:
by Reg Harris
I have been fascinated by the implications that chaos theory has in
life. Dr. Tetenbaum's article discusses how "bounded chaos" may be the
new paradigm for organizational structure because it allows for adaptability
and creativity. It might be a model we should consider for the schools
of the future, which must prepare students for rapid changes and chaos
they will face.
Of equal interest to me is that chaos is the foundation of the Heroic
Journey. It is when we become most settled and our lives are most predictable
that the Journey calls. The element of chaos, symbolized by the mythological
Trickster, enters our lives to break the bounds of "normalcy" to once
again show us that more is possible.
In the last paragraph of this quote, when futurist Dee Hock says "Life
is a recognizable pattern within infinite diversity," she could well be
talking about the Heroic Journey pattern. It is a recognizable pattern,
the pattern of restrictive structure giving way to chaos from which a
new order emerges. The "chaordic" pattern of the Hero's Journey is the
pattern of adaptation to life's ever-changing challenges.
Let me know what you think. Click on "feedback" below.
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February 21
Among the many theories of myth and many theories of ritual, the myth
and ritual theory is distinctive in connecting myths to rituals. The myth
and ritual, or myth-ritualist, theory maintains that myths and rituals
operate together. The theory claims not that myths and rituals happen
to go hand in hand but that they must. In its most uncompromising form,
the theory contends that myths and rituals cannot exist without each other.
In a milder form, the theory asserts that myths and rituals originally
exist together but may subsequently go their separate ways. In its mildest
form, the theory maintains that myths and rituals can arise separately
but subsequently coalesce.
Robert A. Segal
The Myth and Ritual Theory (Blackwell Publishers, 1998)
February 28
...the transformation of man's understanding does not always or necessarily
imply an abandonment of the past. It is not the kind of intellectual change
in which old ideas become automatically obsolete or foolish--just because
they are old. On the contrary, intellectual growth often shows that we
were wiser than we knew, especially in the sense that mythological images
foreshadowed ideas which, at the time of their origin, could not be expressed
in some more exact or scientific symbolism.
Alan Watts
The Two Hands of God (Collier, 1963)
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